


Sparkstar's Spirit

by cloudpool



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Character Deaths, Gen, LGBTQ Cats (Warriors), Original Cat Clans (Warriors), POV Female Character, POV Original Character, maybe a little romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudpool/pseuds/cloudpool
Summary: Sparkclaw is a talented young warrior, ambitious from the start. She starts to rise through the ranks of her Clan and gains the attention of her leader, Featherstar. However, she also gains an unexpected rival - her own apprentice, Spiderpaw.
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i'm very new to this and just wanna get this story down because i've had these characters for years! this is only a prologue and explains how the new 4 clans came to be, because this is FAR after the original clans-there may be mentions of book characters but only as legends. also there might be some heavier topics later on and i'll add a warning before any chapter that has such themes
> 
> silverpelt and twilight use they/them pronouns!

Long after the era of the original Clans, there lived a she-cat. This she-cat had 4 kits - Night, Day, Dawn, and Twilight. She raised her kits in the former home of the Clans and told them fantastical stories about these Clans. She told of their founding, their struggles, how they overcame adversity. The four kits were always enraptured by these tales. They were so touched that they aspired to do just as their clan ancestors had done long before them - make a new home.

When they came of age, they bid a farewell to their mother and set off on a hard and treacherous journey for new lands, not knowing what lay ahead of them. It was long and taxing, bringing them over mountains and through canyons, swamps and moors, facing them off against animals of all shapes and sizes, but in the end they persevered through it all.

Eventually, the four came across a strange valley. In the center of this valley sat a tall, twisting tree that stretched far into the sky. Even stranger, the tree seemed to be calling out to them. The siblings approached the tree and out came a massive, glowing feline figure. Their eyes sparkled like stars and their pelt shimmered with translucent light. This spirit smiled down upon the four cats.

“The four of you - I am proud of you for making it this far,” they said, their voice rumbling across the land.

“You! You do not know us!” Night yowled at them, her hackles raised.

“Tell us, creature! Why do you say this!” Day said sternly. He looked up at the creature and felt fear race through his body.

“Little ones… I am Silverpelt,” the creature grumbled. “I am the spirit that watches over all cats! I see everything. And I have certainly seen you. You, who have been so moved by stories of the Clans that you desired to follow in their oft-forgotten pawsteps.”

“But why us! Surely there are other cats who have the same desires!” Dawn meowed, her claws extended.

“Yes! What did we ever do to warrant your attention?” Twilight cried, their ears tilted back.

“I have never seen such dedication to a goal before, little ones! I have seen many, many cats live and die under my paws, but few have such determination as you…” They chuckled. “Except for Clan cats.”

The four glanced between each other. Were they really saying that? Did that mean what they thought it meant?

Silverpelt stepped down from the boughs of the tree to reach down to the cats’ muzzles. They placed their nose on Twilight’s head. “You, Twilight, a thoughtful and loyal cat - are now Twilightstar.”

They moved to Dawn. “Dawn, a fiery, headstrong she-cat - Dawnstar.”

Then to Day. “Day, a quiet and observant tom - Daystar.”

Finally, Night. “Night, a brave, ambitious she-cat - Nightstar.”

Silverpelt leaned back. “The four of you have fantastic things ahead of you. Share the stories your mother had told you with the cats around here - inspire them, just as she has inspired you.” Suddenly Silverpelt dissolved into the air, nothing but wisps of smoke left.

And so, the four siblings followed the four Clans before them, settling into the valley into four disparate areas. That tree, which came to be known as the Silvertree, became a sacred meeting place for the cats of the living to speak to their dead. They shared their childhood stories with the loners and kittypets and built four new Clans of strong, loyal cats. NightClan, DayClan, DawnClan, and TwilightClan - the beginning of a new era.


	2. Act 1 Allegiances

NIGHTCLAN

 **Leader** : Featherstar - blue-gray long furred she-cat (she/her)

 **Deputy** : Goldwing - large golden-orange tabby with bright yellow eyes (he/him)

 **Med. Cat** : Rookfoot - black cat with a splash of white on chest (she/they)  
App.: Finchpaw

 **Warriors** :

Flinteye - gray tom with dark blue eyes (he/him)

Puffinfur - fluffy black and white she-cat (she/her)

Doespots - brown tabby with specks of white across her stripes (she/her)

Orangesky - bright orange tom with gold-orange eyes (he/him)

Flamescar - dark orange tabby tom with scars covering his body (he/him)  
App.: Thistlepaw

Swiftstep - pale orange tabby tom with a white face (he/him)

Lakethorn - bright gray tabby she-cat (she/her)

Snowpath - white she-cat with one blue eye and one green eye (she/her)  
App.: Lavenderpaw

Hollystem - misty gray tom with thick light stripes (he/him)

Moonlight - small black cat with piercing pale blue eyes (he/they)  
App.: Shadowpaw

Talonswoop - large gray tabby tom (he/him)  
App.: Juniperpaw

Nettlefur - gray she-cat with messy fur (she/her)

Otterslip - brown tabby with thick marbled markings (she/he/they)

Tallwing - long legged she-cat with dark tabby fur (she/her)

 **Apprentices** :

Shadowpaw - fluffy black tom (he/him)

Juniperpaw - reddish-orange tabby (they/them)

Thistlepaw - large gray-brown tabby with a bright pink nose (she/they)

Lavenderpaw - pale tabby she-cat with dark eyes (she/her)

Finchpaw - thick furred gray and white tom (he/him)

**Queens** :

Palenose - dilute calico she-cat with light green eyes (she/her) (mother of Sparkkit)

Redleaf - red calico she-cat (she/her) (mother of Pikekit, Darkkit and Scorchkit)

 **Elders** :

Appleshine - large orange tabby cat (they/she)

Indigoclaw - black and white tom (he/him)

Sunpelt - scarred orange tabby tom (he/him)

DAYCLAN

 **Leader** : Snakestar - brown tabby tom with green eyes (he/him)

 **Deputy** : Sharpgaze - orange and white she-cat (she/her)

 **Med. Cat** : Troutpelt - blue-gray tom with blue eyes (he/him)

DAWNCLAN

 **Leader** : Acornstar - small brown tabby she-cat (she/her)

 **Deputy** : Flowerstep - gray tom with a stumpy tail (he/him)

 **Med. Cat** : Cloudpool - gray and white she-cat (she/her)

TWILIGHTCLAN

 **Leader** : Cloverstar - gray tom with bright green eyes (he/him)

 **Deputy** : Emberclaw - black and orange tom (he/him)

 **Med. Cat** : Birdflight - orange and white tabby (she/her)


	3. Act 1 Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY IF YOU ALREADY READ CHAPTER ONE BUT I DECIDED TO COMBINE 1 AND 2 INTO ONE;;;;; I THINK ITS BETTER THIS WAY LOL i did rewrite the end of the ""chapter 1"" though a little! juniperpaw uses they/them pronouns please :)

Sparkkit yawned awake, her tiny body pressed against her mother. The kit pawed at her mother’s belly and meowled, “Moooom, I’m hungry... ‘re you awake yet?”

Her mother, Palenose, drowsily nuzzled her head. “Yes, yes, I’m awake, but I’m not going to give you milk. Didn’t we talk about this yesterday?”

The kit frowned dramatically. “I know, mom, it’s time for me to try ‘real food’.

“Yes!” Palenose stretched her front paws. “I still want to get some more rest, but if you would like you can follow Redleaf’s kits outside of the nursery and get something with them.”

Sparkkit lept to her paws. “Outside of the nursery?” she repeated excitedly. “Yay!”

“Just be careful and don’t get into any trouble, little kitten,” her mother said sternly, as Sparkkit was already running off toward the other queen in the den.

She skidded into the three sleeping kittens next to Redleaf and started prodding them. “Hey! Hey! Wake up!”

The largest one, a golden tabby named Pikekit, opened his jaws wide in a yawn. He had a very prominent tooth that always stuck out of his mouth funny. “Sparkkit? What d’ you want?”

A spotty gray she-kit, Darkkit, popped her head out and glared at Sparkkit. “Some of us are trying to sleep, dork!”

The last one, an orange tabby, Scorchkit, scrambled over his littermates to reach Sparkkit. “Hey! You’re eating real prey today, right?”

Sparkkit grinned. She and Scorchkit were close, even though they weren’t actual siblings. He was the closest thing she had to one. “Yeah! Mom said I could eat with you guys!”

The kits’ mother, Redleaf, a calico, peered over at Sparkkit. “Ah. Well, I’m going to stay here, but you kits can go get breakfast. Bring something back for me!”

Darkkit scoffed. “Nah. I’m staying here too. Dunno how you guys are always so awake.” She put her head back down against her mother.

Scorchkit rolled his eyes. “We don’t need her. Come on!” He raced out out the nursery, Pikekit and Sparkkit close behind.

She’d never been outside of the nursery without her mother! She gazed around at all the cats around her, all as big as or bigger than Palenose and Redleaf. Summer was still in full swing, the trees surrounding NightClan’s camp carrying thick bunches of dark green leaves, and the air was warm and somewhat humid.

A dark red cat sat at the fresh-kill pile, scanning through the prey. They turned their head as they heard the three kits barrelling towards them. “Hey! Y’all looking for some food?” 

“Yeah!” Scorchkit said. He turned to Sparkkit. “This is Juniperpaw. They’re our older sibling!”

Juniperpaw made their way over to Sparkkit. “You’re Sparkkit, yeah?” She nodded. “My bros have told me about you. You’re barely a moon, huh?”

Sparkkit puffed her chest out proudly. “A moon and a half!” she declared.

Juniperpaw chuckled. “Oh! Sorry! Still younger than my siblings, though.”

Her muzzle scrunched up. “So? Soon, I’ll become an apprentice, and then a warrior, and then, leader!” 

“Well, every kit has dreams of being leader. You’ve got a lot of competition.”

“I’ll beat them all!” she squeaked. “Jus’ you wait and see!”

Juniperpaw placed their paw on Sparkkit gently. “I believe you, kit. You’ve got a fiery spirit.” They turned back to the prey pile and clutched a large bird in their jaws. “Well, nice meetin’ you, Sparkkit,” they said through a mouthful of feathers, walking away towards one of the dens, presumably the apprentices’.

Scorchkit nudged Sparkkit. “Come on! What d’you wanna eat?” 

Sparkkit blinked. She gazed at all the prey in front of her. “Um… I dunno? You pick something I think I’d like!”

The tiny tabby tom narrowed his eyes and scanned the pile. “Ah!” He dove forward and grabbed a fat creature. “A mouse! Try this.” He dropped it in front of her.

Sparkkit tilted her head to the side. Did you just bite into it? Did you tear it apart? She tentatively sunk her teeth into its side and easily ripped a chunk of soft flesh off. She started chewing it and was surprised by how much she liked it. “It’s a little sweet!” she said through her mouthful. “Kinda like milk!”

Scorchkit and Pikekit had settled around the mouse as well, taking their own portions. “Knew you’d like it,” Scorchkit meowed.

The kits quickly finished off the mouse, leaving only it's bones left. As the two brothers cleaned their paws, Sparkkit jolted to her feet. “We should explore camp!” she mewed excitedly.

“We could show you around!” Pikekit exclaimed. “We’ve already been around camp before, so we could show you some cool things!”

Scorchkit nodded. “Yeah! Come on! I wanna show you this really cool secret exit we found,” he said in a hushed voice.

Sparkkit gasped. “Yes! Show me!” She bounced on her paws.

She chased after the brothers as they ran across the camp. Suddenly, however, she was stopped in her tracks by a large paw in her path. “Where are you going, kit?” A huge tabby tom glared down at her.

The orange she-kit gulped. “Um - I’m playing with my friends,” she mewed. 

His eyebrows raised. “You’re a little young to be out on your own without your mother.”

She pouted. “I’m a moon and a half! I can take care of myself!”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, don’t get in anyone’s way, kit,” he rumbled. 

“I know! I know! I’m not a mouse-brain!” she said indignantly.

The tabby’s eyes rolled again and he trotted off wordlessly.

Pikekit and Scorchkit crowded around Sparkkit. “That was Talonswoop!” Pikekit said breathlessly. “He’s so scary!”

“I can’t believe he stopped you like that!” Scorchkit squealed. “And you lived!”

“Well, I don’t think he would’ve killed me,” Sparkkit scoffed. She shivered. “He was scary, though. Glad he’s not my dad.”

“Well - now that he’s gone,” Pikekit said in a low voice, “we can show you the secret now!” He bounded off toward the camp walls.

From what Sparkkit knew, the entire NightClan camp was in a very shallow hole in the ground, surrounded by trees and enforced with pointy brambles and other plants to help prevent intruders from coming in. The two brothers led Sparkkit to a slightly off-beaten part of camp and pulled back some of the brambles. Sparkkit gaped when she saw that there was a small, straight path through the thicket right out of the camp and into the territory beyond. “Woah!” she marveled. “That’s so cool!”

“I know, right? And no one else seems to know about it!” Pikekit meowed excitedly. More quietly, he said, “Me and Scorch have been planning to go through and see what the territory is like, but we’ve never found a good time to do it yet. But when we do, we’ll let you know.” Scorchkit grinned beside him.

Sparkkit nodded. “We’ll do it together.” But as much as she wanted to follow through on that, she couldn't stop thinking. What if she went out, alone, like a real warrior on a patrol? Surely she'd be talk of the Clan! Pikekit and Scorchkit showed her around camp, but she barely paid any attention. She needed to see what was beyond camp, that night.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Sparkkit peered around the edge of the nursery den to look outside. It was dark, the sliver of moon hanging high in the night sky. She glanced at the figures of Pikekit, Scorchkit and Darkkit against their mother, and felt a pang of regret for not including them. But she felt she had to do this herself. She had to prove herself to her Clan, even as a kit!

She cautiously stepped outside and hurried as quietly as she could to the place Pikekit and Scorchkit had shown her. She checked to make sure she wasn’t being followed, then pulled back the brambles and scrambled through the entrance. Even for her, it was a fairly tight fit, and she felt the brambles scratching her skin. She gritted her teeth and pushed through despite the pain. That’s what a warrior would do.

She finally shimmied out the other end and was met with a forest of dense trees, so close together she couldn’t see the sky and there was little light before her. She blinked and shook her pelt. “Where to first!” she mewed quietly. The kit waddled as fast as she could through the tall grass, her tiny body barrelling through. In the distance, as she looked through the weeds, she was able to make out something sparkling. She gasped and took off in that direction.

The grasses tapered off and before her was a gentle slope that led to a stream of slow moving water. The innumerable stars above reflected onto the water’s surface. Sparkkit stuck her nose into the water, wanting to take a drink, but jumped away with a yelp when she realized the water was trying to pull her in, almost resulting in her stumbling into the creek.

She frowned. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea for a kit. She should go back, before anyone noticed she was missing.

As she turned to go back to camp, however, she realized her big mistake - she had no idea where she was. She couldn’t see anything, and had no idea how to make her way back. She glanced around, frightened, and meowled, “Hello?”

Immediately after her cry she heard rustling from a nearby bush. She felt her fur stand on end and she gulped, shivering. This was a bad idea.

The sound seemed to get closer and so she backed herself into the gnarled roots of a tree, in the hopes that nothing would be able to see her. She curled up into a ball and started shaking, sobs wracking her body. “I-I wanna g-go home…” she whispered. “I-I wanna see Palenose a-a-and Scorchkit and Pikekit a-and… even D-darkkit…”

Another rustle, and she squeezed herself even tighter against the ground and the tree. It kept getting louder, and louder, and louder, until it was right on top of her. She was crying even more now and was prepared for this to be the end as she shut her eyes and-

“I knew you came out here.”

Sparkkit opened her eyes and looked up. It was Talonswoop, his dark tabby form barely noticeable, but his orange eyes gleamed with anger. “Flea-brained kit! Why would you ever think this was a good idea? You’re lucky I heard you pushing through the border while I was on guard duty, and even luckier I heard you crying first instead of some fox!” His tail lashed against the grass fiercely. The large tom snapped the kit up in his jaws by the scruff. “Can’t believe it… spirits above, these damn kits…” he muttered as he stalked back to camp.

Sparkkit felt her ears flush deeply with embarrassment. This was not how she wanted to come back to camp.

Talonswoop ducked through the camp entrance and dropped Sparkkit down right in the middle of camp. The tiny kit looked up at Talonswoop, his pelt glowing silver in the moonlight. “We’re going into the nursery and you’re apologizing to your mother immediately for being such a reckless mouse-brain.” He pushed her with a paw toward the direction of the nursery. 

Her tail drooping against the ground, she staggered over to her mother, Talonswoop shadowing behind her. Sparkkit nudged her mother. “H-hey, mom… um…”

Palenose drearily opened her eyes to look at Sparkkit. “Hi, sweetie… T-Talonswoop?” Her head stuck straight up as she caught sight of the old warrior. “What are you doing here?”

“Palenose, I found your daughter outside the camp borders all alone. At night,” Talonswoop grumbled.

The queen gasped. “Sparkkit! Is this true?” 

The orange kit nodded somberly. “Yeah. I-snuck out. I’m sorry.”

Palenose cuffed her kit’s ears with a quick swipe of her paw. “I can’t believe you! You know better, young she-cat!”

Redleaf lifted her head. “Palenose? What’s wrong?”

“Sparkkit decided to go sneaking outside of camp in the middle of night! Thank the spirits Talonswoop found her before-before-” The pale calico queen’s voice cut off with a sob.

Redleaf turned her steely green gaze onto Sparkkit. “Mouse-brained kit! Why would you do such a thing? What if something had happened to you?”

Palenose looked down at Sparkkit sadly. “You-you know I can’t go through that again. Not like-”

Hailkit. Her mother didn’t have to finish the sentence. Sparkkit’s brother who had died immediately after birth. The kit hung her head. “I’m… sorry, mom.”

“Um… it was kinda our fault,” Scorchkit piped up from next to his mother. “We-kinda showed Sparkkit a secret exit out of camp.” Pikekit nodded next to him. Darkkit muttered, something along the lines of I’m not with them.

Redleaf gasped. “Really? You two as well?!” She looked to her fellow queen sadly. “We need to punish them.”

Palenose gave a nod and meowed, “The three of you are not allowed to leave the nursery without one of us until you become apprentices.”

Immediately Sparkkit objected. “But-I only just got to leave on my own today! I-”

“No buts, miss. And I better not hear any complaining from either of you,” she added, eyeing Scorchkit and Pikekit. They emphatically shook their heads.

Palenose sighed. “Good. I’m sorry, Sparkkit. I just-I can’t lose you too,” she murmured.

“I-understand, mom. I-I don’t… want to lose you either.” She snuggled up back next to her mother, falling asleep to the sound of her mother’s gentle, rumbling purrs.


	4. Act 1 Chapter 2

Sparkkit squirmed under her mother’s tongue. “Come on, mom, I’m about to be an apprentice now! This is embarrassing!”

“You’re not a ‘paw yet, Sparkkit. I just want you to be my little kit for a bit longer,” Palenose purred.

Sparkkit broke free from her mother’s grip. “I’m always going to be your little kit,” she meowed.

Palenose sighed. “I suppose. I’m-going to miss having you in the nursery.”

The kit leaned forward to lick her mother’s head. “I know. But we’ll get to go on patrols together, won’t we?”

Palenose pressed her head against her daughter’s. “You’ll do good.”

The two she-cats looked up at the sound of pawsteps and were met with a large orange tom bounding toward them. “Spark!” He rammed into Sparkkit and flung his paw around her. 

“Hi, dad,” she said sheepishly.

Her father, Orangesky, grinned. “Today is the day! You excited?”

Sparkkit nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! I already know I’m going to be the best apprentice,” she added boastfully.

Orangesky nuzzled his daughter’s cheek. “I know you will. You’re my kit, of course!”

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join under the rock for a Clan meeting!” The yowl of NightClan’s leader, Featherstar, rang throughout the camp.

Sparkkit looked to both of her parents. “Well, I suppose that’s for me, huh?” She touched noses with each of them one last time, and turned off toward the gathering rock. As she went to sit down she was hit hard with a blur of orange and yellow fur that made her stumble onto the ground. She recognized it as Pikepaw and Scorchpaw, who were purring with excitement around her, with their sister Darkpaw trailing behind them. Since they were older, they had already been made apprentices, of course.

“Sparkkit! You ready?” Scorchpaw meowed excitedly. 

“We’ve missed you!” Pikepaw said sadly. “We’re happy to get to be with you again!”

Sparkkit laughed. “Me too!” She shook her pelt and got back on her feet, gazing up at the enormous rock before her. 

From the top, a tall, thick-furred blue-gray she-cat meowed loudly, “NightClan, today we celebrate the coming of age of a new cat. Sparkkit has finally reached 6 moons of age and is now able to be trained to become a true warrior. Sparkkit, please come forward.”

Sparkkit padded through the crowd of cats, her paws bouncing with nerves and excitement and so many other emotions. As she went through, she glanced around, wondering who would be her mentor. Perhaps Flinteye, a kind but stern gray tom. Or Otterslip, a playful and passionate brown tabby. Or maybe even Junipernose, who while still a fresh warrior, was headstrong and talented. 

Sparkkit stood in front of the rock and anxiously waited. Featherstar looked down to the not-so-little kit. “Sparkkit, until you receive your warrior name, from now on you will be known as Sparkpaw.” She paused. “Talonswoop, you will be her mentor. Even though you have only recently finished Junipernose’s training, I believe you are the best fit. You are thoughtful and observant, and I believe you will be able to pass on these important qualities to Sparkpaw.”

Sparkpaw’s tail drooped. Talonswoop?! She was almost certain the tabby tom hated her. Ever since her attempt to escape camp as a kit, she noticed his stern, dark eyes staring at Sparkpaw whenever she passed by. And why was he taking on another apprentice already? Junipernose had only just become a warrior hardly a moon ago!

Talonswoop came over to Sparkpaw, pushing his way through the crowd. His expression was unreadable as he bent down to touch Sparkpaw’s nose with his own. Reluctantly Sparkpaw obliged. 

“Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw!” She heard the yowls of her Clanmates yelling her name, cheering for her, but she had a knot of dread in her belly that wormed its way up her throat, making her feel sick. She gulped it down quickly. 

After the cheering died down, Featherstar meowed, “Meeting dismissed!” and the cats dispersed.

The large tabby looked down at Sparkpaw. “As is usual for new apprentices, I will take you on a tour of our territory. Come with me,” he rumbled, his tail flicking Sparkpaw’s flank. 

“O-oh, already? Okay…” Sparkpaw stammered.

Before they could reach the camp exit, however, Featherstar strode over to them. “Congratulations, Sparkpaw,” she purred to the new apprentice. Then she glanced to Talonswoop. “May I speak with you for a moment?” she asked quietly.

Talonswoop rolled his eyes. “Fine. Make sure you’re at the entrance by the time I get back,” he growled to his apprentice. He stalked off with his leader.

“Talonswoop?” Pikepaw said incredulously from right behind her. She whipped her head around to face her denmates. 

Darkpaw shook her head. “Why would he take another apprentice? He just had Junipernose.”

“Junipernose used to say Talonswoop would punish them with tick duty if they laid even a claw out of line,” Scorchpaw piped up. “And he was like, super hard on them during training sessions.”

Sparkpaw shivered. “Why would he even accept me? I’m pretty sure he hates my guts.”

Darkpaw placed her tail on Sparkpaw’s shoulder. “Good luck.” Then she went back toward the apprentices’ den.

Pikepaw gave a lick between Sparkpaw’s ears. “Don’t worry. I know you’ll make him like you,” he purred. “Sorry, I have to go on patrol. See ya!” He bounded away.

Scorchpaw looked at Sparkpaw with a sad smile. “Hey, you’re Sparkpaw. You’re supposed to become the greatest NightClan warrior of all time, right? I know you can do it. No matter what dumb Talonswoop throws your way.”

She sighed. “Um… thanks. Uh-I should probably go, before he chews me out and stuffs mud in my ears as punishment for being late.” Scorchpaw purred in amusement and Sparkpaw padded off to go meet with her mentor. 

Talonswoop was already standing in front of the camp border. “You’re slow,” he remarked.

Sparkpaw’s fur bristled but she didn’t want to get into a fight with her mentor on the first day. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“Speak up,” her mentor demanded. “No cat can hear you if you mumble like that.”

“Sorry,” she hissed again, louder.

His tail flicked. “Come on.” He led her through the spacious exit in the camp walls.

Sparkpaw glanced around the camp. “Are we going alone?” she asked tentatively.

“Of course. There aren't any other new apprentices.” He answered without looking back. Sparkpaw’s tail dropped. She had been hoping at least one of the apprentices was coming along. She really didn't want to be stuck alone with Talonswoop all day. He was already getting on her nerves.

She tried to shake that off her mind. Despite anything else, she was excited to get to finally see the territory! Well, outside of her attempted escape as a kit. But she wasn’t a kit any longer! Now she was an apprentice, eager to explore and take on the world. 

They emerged out the other end and the chill in the air really hit Sparkpaw. They were on the cusp of winter - they hadn’t quite had the first snowfall but the trees were bare and sad-looking, having lost all their leaves already. She was definitely excited to see her first snowfall; she wondered how it would feel on her pelt and under her paws...

“Hey! Get that moss out of your brain. Pay attention,” Talonswoop’s hiss cut through Sparkpaw’s thoughts and jolted her back to reality. “You can’t daydream on patrols.”

“But this isn’t a patrol,” the apprentice said under her breath.

Her mentor glared back at her, his eyes narrowing, but said nothing. He led her through the forest, the two cats travelling in silence. Sparkpaw gulped. Was this normal behavior between mentors and their apprentices? 

“Stop here.” Again, Talonswoop’s voice jerked Sparkpaw out of her thoughts. “Look down there,” he meowed, motioning with his tail.

Sparkpaw gaped at the sight before her. A wide, open valley stretched before her. Wildflowers of all sorts of colors dotted the landscape, leading gently down to an enormous tree whose branches seemed to glow silver in the sunlight. Even from as far away as Sparkpaw was, she could tell the tree was larger than any others that grew in their forest. “What’s that?” she asked in awe.

“The Silvertree,” he meowed. “Every moon, all four Clans gather there under a truce of peace.” He flicked his tail at Sparkpaw’s shoulder. “Come on, there’s more I need to show you.”

Reluctantly, Sparkpaw padded after her mentor and pulled away from the sight as he brought her to several other landmarks in NightClan territory - a sandy clearing used for training, the edges of the territory that met DayClan and DawnClan, the Thunderpath that ran through their land. Sparkpaw picked up on most of it but was still lost in her thoughts - why would Talonswoop train her? Surely it must be as punishment. Perhaps her parents asked him to do this. The meanest cat in NightClan, putting her into shape. 

Sparkpaw lifted her chin up and puffed her chest out. Well, if that was what they wanted from her - she’d do it. She sped up a little to match Talonswoop’s pace, and focused intently on the rest of his tour.


End file.
